Work

The predictive effects of individual difference factors on L2 writing complexity, accuracy, and fluency

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Drawing on the control-value theory and the individual-environmental model of writing, this study investigated the predictive effects of various individual difference factors (i.e., L2 writing grit, enjoyment, anxiety, motivation, and working memory) on L2 writing syntactic complexity, accuracy, lexical complexity, and fluency (CALF) performance. Questionnaires were distributed to 390 high school students to measure their L2 writing grit, enjoyment, anxiety, and motivation. A reading span test and an operation span test were conducted to assess the students' working memory. All participants completed a writing task within 30 minutes. The structural equation modeling results revealed that L2 writing anxiety directly predicted syntactic complexity and accuracy, and L2 writing motivation directly predicted lexical complexity and fluency. Although L2 writing grit did not directly predict CALF performance, it predicted syntactic complexity and accuracy through anxiety. In addition, L2 writing grit predicted lexical complexity and fluency through the serial mediating roles of emotions and motivation. Specifically, the mediating effect of enjoyment and motivation was larger than that of anxiety and motivation in the relationship between grit and lexical complexity as well as between grit and fluency.

Source: Frontiers in Psychology

DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1631353

Author: Zihan Gao

Institution: Beijing Jiaotong University

Language: English

Topic: EFL/ESL Teaching and Learning

Subfield: Language and Linguistics

Field: Arts and Humanities

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Quality education

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $3,801